We propose an equivalent circuit model for photonic spike processing laser neurons with an embedded saturable absorber---a simulation model for photonic excitable lasers (SIMPEL). We show that by mapping the laser neuron rate equations into a circuit model, SPICE analysis can be used as an efficient and accurate engine for numerical calculations, capable of generalization to a variety of different laser neuron types found in literature. The development of this model parallels the Hodgkin--Huxley model of neuron biophysics, a circuit framework which brought efficiency, modularity, and generalizability to the study of neural dynamics. We employ the model to study various signal-processing effects such as excitability with excitatory and inhibitory pulses, binary all-or-nothing response, and bistable dynamics.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1409.7030,
title = {SIMPEL: Circuit model for photonic spike processing laser neurons},
author = {Bhavin J. Shastri and Mitchell A. Nahmias and Alexander N. Tait and Ben Wu and Paul R. Prucnal},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1409.7030},
year = {2015}
}